Smelting sulfid ores.



UNITED STAfgliliT OFFICE.

JAMES TAYLOR CARRICK AND STUART PATTISON, O1" JOHANNESBURG, TRANSVAAL.

SMELTING SULFID ORES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 17, 1908.

Application filed. October 16, 1906. Serial No. 339,236.

Johannesburg aforesaid, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Smelting Sulfid Ores, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the treatment of yritic cop er or nickel or copper nickel, suld ores, w rich are poor in sulfur available as fuel and are therefore unsuited for pure pyritio smelting but require the use of additional fuel, such as coke, and which, upon smelting in the usual manner. yield a matte above the intense heat so produced in the neighborhood of the twyers, prevents the formation of crusts at that pomt and so enables the whole series of twyers to be kept continually in blast.

j duce sulfuric acid from such gases, when it. might soluble to a greater or less extent in acid with evolution of sulftu'eted hydrogen.

The object of the invention is an impro ement in the commonly accepted process of smelting such ores. such that by the utilization of gaseous fuel produced from the matte.

itself the consumption of coke or other fuel maybe economized and anintcnse local heat my be produced in the cupola such as to obviate freezing of the charge near the twyers. According to this invention therefore the matte such as is ordinarily produced. is treated with dilute acid for the production of sulfureted hydrogen. which gas is used as fuel in the cupola. during a subsequent blast. for the purpose stated.

In a typical example where -a pyritic copper nickel ore is undcr treatment. the matte produced by the smelting of a first charge.

consisting substantially of a mixture. of the monosulfids of copper, nickel. and iron. is withdrawn from cupola. pulverized and treated with dilute sulfuric acid in a suitable digester. 'here circiunstanccs allow and render it economically advisable the acid would be manufactured from the sulfur di- A further effect of the use of sulfureted hydrogen is that the dioxld m the flue gases is increased thereby rendering it commercially possible to prootherwise be impracticable. The acid thus produced may, as stated, he utilized for digesting the matte for the production of a further quantity of sulfureted hydrogen. From the residue in the digester, the high grade insoluble copper sullid containing usually a small percentage of nickel sullid is separated and may be" shipped to special treatment works or treated upon the spot as may be convenient: while the liquor which may contain a percentage of copper is treated. for instance. by t'l \'stzllll7.tttloli, for the recover of the iron and nickel stilfates. or electrolyticall for the recovery of the copper and nickel.

We cl'aim as our iIiYtltiionI 1. The process of treating sullid ores of the class specified which consists in smelting the ore to produce a matte. treating such matte for the production of sulfurcted hydrogen, utilizing such gas as fuel in subsequent smelting, and treating the residues resulting from the treatment of the matte for the recovery of the metals therefrom.

2. In the smelting of sullid ores of the class specified. the process of treating matte with dilute sulfuric acid for the production of sulfureted hydrogen. utilizing such gas as fuel in subsequent smeltin treating the flue gases. of which the sulfur (lioxid contents r have been enriched by the sulfureted hydrooxid which is passed off from the cupola during smelting. The sullureted hydrogen evolvedfrom the digestcr is passed into a gas l holder from which it is passed by pipes to a special set of twyers located adjacent to the air twycrs of the cupola: and in burning with the air constitutes a part or the whole of the additional fuel over and above the available fuel in the ore necessary for the reduction of further quantities of ore. As indicated gen, for the manufacture of sulfuric acid and digesting the matte with such sulfuric acid for the production of a further quantity f sulfureted hydrogen, and utilizing such gas as fuel in subsequent smelting.

In testimony whereof we allix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES TAYLOR (ARRHIL ST UA RT PA'ITISON. \Yitnesses:

IIAROLD ERNEST Kiscu, JABEZ WARREN Vexxrxo.

percentage of sulfur 

